‘Dearly Departed’ on stage through April 7
by Denee Stewart Freeman '18
Student Theater Guild processes grief in the hilarious “Dearly Departed” on the Auditorium stage 7 p.m. Friday, April 6 and 7 p.m. Saturday, April 7. The show is recommended for ages 10 and older.
Continuing with the comedy from “Shakespeare in Love,” the Student Theater Guild play springs us forward to present day in the deep south with “Dearly Departed” by David Bottrell and Jesse Jones. In the face of the death of the patriarch, the dysfunctional Turpin family is forced to come together to say goodbye to their Daddy Bud while dealing with all of their other individual problems. Filled with hysterical character, this play is for anybody who has dealt with grief or family and likes to laugh.
Catch “Dearly Departed” at 7 p.m. Friday, April 6 or 7 p.m. Saturday, April 7 in the Auditorium. The show is recommended for Middle School audiences and above; it contains brief adult language and mild thematic elements. Admission is a recommended $5 to profit The Darkhorse Theater, the only reasonably priced theater venue in town with reasonably priced theater groups and a place for which Catherine always advocated.
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Although only being produced off-Broadway, the play received rave reviews from media such as the New York Post and New York Daily News:
“Not since ‘Steel Magnolia’ has a more colorful and dysfunctional group of Southern eccentrics gathered below the Mason-Dixon line. When the patriarch of the Turpin family keels over dead in the first scene, the struggle to get him buried involves the whole clan, including the not-so-grieving widow who wants to put ‘Mean and Surly’ on the tombstone. ‘If you were amused by the kind of bucolic mayhem of…’Greater Tuna,’ this more ambitious trip down a rustic main street could be just your dish of cola." -New York Post.
“‘Dearly Departed’ is drop dead funny.” -New York Daily News.
The Student Theatre Guild is proud to add this year's production to its repertoire of excellent theatrical endeavors: past productions include “Baby with the Bathwater,” “Brighton Beach Memoirs,” “The Laramie Project,” “Comic Potential,” and “The House of Blue Leaves.” This production, like all Student Theatre Guild productions, is entirely directed, produced, and acted by students.
This year’s Student Theater Guild show has been especially meaningful after beginning with a postponement for the theater community to grieve the loss of the late High School Theatre Director Catherine Coke. “Dearly Departed” deals with grief, family and trying to support others even when you don’t quite know how: in essence the most relevant things to all of us in this past month. The cast blends beautifully all the humor and insanity of the characters while capturing the humanness and moments of love, and the performances are all dedicated to Catherine, who taught us to live fearlessly.
Catch “Dearly Departed” at 7 p.m. Friday, April 6 or 7 p.m. Saturday, April 7 in the Auditorium. The show is recommended for Middle School audiences and above; it contains brief adult language and mild thematic elements. Admission is a recommended $5 to profit The Darkhorse Theater, the only reasonably priced theater venue in town with reasonably priced theater groups and a place for which Catherine always advocated.
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Fax: 615-321-0889
Email: info@usn.org
River Campus
1200 County Hospital Road
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University School of Nashville models the best educational practices. In an environment that represents the cultural and ethnic composition of Metropolitan Nashville, USN fosters each student’s intellectual, artistic, and athletic potential, valuing and inspiring integrity, creative expression, a love of learning, and the pursuit of excellence.
University School of Nashville models the best educational practices. In an environment that represents the cultural and ethnic composition of Metropolitan Nashville, USN fosters each student’s intellectual, artistic, and athletic potential, valuing and inspiring integrity, creative expression, a love of learning, and the pursuit of excellence.